Bangkok, Thailand!

First Impressions I confess, I held an unjustifiable prejudice about Thailand based on the movie Bangkok Dangerous, however, the city itself is actually far from what its being depicted in the movies. Based on first observations, the population seems smaller than that of Malaysia or Singapore, it was kinda eerie how the streets were vacant. But later on I found out that it was a weekend, therefore, the streets were normally that empty. People here are generally polite and display their cultural-based greetings that involves clamping both palms together like one is praying while saying “sah-wha-di-kap” Riverside Tour The thought of the riverside tour ride was interesting and exciting, however, in reality, the actual experience proved to plateau within 5-10 minutes of riding. We passed by rows of local homes established near the riverbanks and several buddhist temples. After seeing one temple, the next one is quite predictable. The cool part of the tour, for me at least, was seeing monitor lizards, turtles, and huge fish swimming in the brown, murky, and dirty water. Within the tour, we ventured upon the Grand Palace, however, the amount of activities inside the palace were limited to merely observing the temple grounds and thats about it. Whats more, there was a huge crowd of tourists and locals attempting to squeeze in the narrow entrance to the temple grounds. Places Visited: Dusit Zoo, Grand Palace, Floating Market, Siam Mall, Sala Daeng night market, Snake Farm, National Stadium, and Victory Monument. Local Foods The eats provided by locals were incredibly affordably. With about roughly 1 USD you can get a bowl of noodle soup or a rice plate. Not only are the dishes cheap, but they are equally tasty. The night market held at Sala Daeng was a great destination to satisfy both the innate haggler and the food lover in you. Thoughts Honestly, other than the riverside tours, there wasn’t much tourist attractions within Bangkok that could count as major. The city isn’t shabby by any means, the MRT (LRT) transportation services provided here are quick, reliable, and extremely convenient. The thing that stuck out to me was Caucasians men who stroll out of local “bars” with a much younger Thai women and go on a date with them. Furthermore, it was interesting to me how there was a family business, with a small child, operating right at the doorsteps of a “night bar”, within glimpse of performing models in high heels and little clothing. Thats just me. Aside from this, aestethicgally speaking, the people here are quite beautiful actually. Moreover, the Thai people as a whole seem to be honest, hard working, and gentle. Overall, my experience here in Thailand was satisfying.